Introduction

Samsung enterprise SSDs have an established history in the OEM space, but recently Samsung has begun a concerted push into the broader market with branded enterprise SSD products. Samsung's first salvo began with the value-oriented 845DC EVO we recently evaluated.

Now, Samsung brings another cutting-edge NAND technology into play with the deployment of the first branded 3D NAND (V-NAND) SSD in the datacenter. The 845DC PRO features Samsung's first generation 24-layer V-NAND. V-NAND is 3D NAND that achieves better density, performance, endurance, and power consumption, via vertical stacking of the NAND cells, and CTF technology. This runs counter to the established norm of increasing density through NAND shrinks, and for good reason. Shrinks provide more density, but actually reduce endurance. Readers can take a deeper look at Vertical-NAND (V-NAND) in this Samsung whitepaper.

The addition of the 845DC PRO gives Samsung a dual-pronged attack that addresses both ends of the workload spectrum. The DC EVO addresses read-centric applications such as content delivery networks and web servers. Additionally, the DC PRO addresses workloads with heavier write workloads, such as application and database servers.

The 845DC PRO comes in 400GB and 800 GB capacities. It offers expected performance metrics from a SATA SSD, with the exception of the 4K random write speed, where it is well above the rest of the field. The 845DC PRO sports an impressive sustained 4k random write speed of 51,000 IOPS for the 800GB model, and 50,000 IOPS for the 400GB we are testing today. The 845DC PRO also weighs in with a healthy 4k random read speed of 92,000 IOPS. The SSD also provides up to 530/460 MB/s sequential read/write speeds.

The 845DC PRO features much lower power consumption than competing solutions due to the unique architecture of 3D V-NAND, and inherently features robust endurance due to the larger lithography. The 845DC PRO delivers up to 10 DWPD (Drive Writes per Day) of endurance during the warranty period, or up to 7.3 PB for the 400GB, and 14 PB for the 800GB Model. While V-NAND may be a relatively new technology in the public eye, it has actually been through rigorous quality cycles, and deployment in production environments for a lengthy period. The 845DC PRO utilizes the proven and reliable MDX controller with the 24-layer V-NAND.

Samsung addresses quality concerns with tantalum power capacitors, end-to-end data protection, a two million hour MTBF, and a one per 10E17 UBER rating. The 845DC PRO is also backed by a five-year warranty. Samsung shocked even the most optimistic of analysts with the quick cadence of V-NAND product launches, and such speedy development is partly due to their vertical integration. The use of their own controllers provides Samsung with a tangible advantage in time to market with new NAND technologies, such as V-NAND and TLC NAND.

Samsung has also focused on delivering consistent performance, with 99.9% of 4k I/O at QD32 served in 0.6ms for read, and 5ms for write operations. Samsung also highlights their focus on providing predictable performance by providing in-depth latency targets for their SSDs. The 845DC EVO with TLC held up well in our testing; let's see how 3D V-NAND holds up in comparison to planar (2D) NAND SSDs.

PRICING: You can find the Samsung 845DC PRO SSD for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.